Transcript Reagan
1980-1992
22.1 DRQ
Describe one challenge that each of the following presidents had
to deal with during their administrations:
• Nixon
• Ford
• Carter
America in low spirits
Watergate, economy, hostages
Carter’s “malaise speech”
The 1980 election
Reagan recalls better times
Reagan/Bush win by landslide
From actor to governor
Reagan = optimism
Reagan’s 1964 speech
Governor of CA
Reagan’s conservative support
The New Right
Religious backing – Jerry Falwell
A powerful personality
The “Great Communicator”
Nancy Reagan – “Just Say No”
Reagan’s presidential agenda
Reduce gov’t, cut taxes, USSR
Assassination attempt
Supply-side economics
David Stockman
Stimulate investment
Budget deficit
tax rates favor wealthy
Recession and recovery
Gov’t revenue down
Gov’t spending up
Federal Reserve lowers rates
Congress tries to control deficit
The Evil Empire
Rejects containment/detente
Wants to “destroy communism”
Military spending soars
“peace with strength”
SDI proposed (Star Wars)
A weakened Soviet Union
Soviet economy shrinking
Lech Walesa – “Solidarity”
U.S.-Soviet relations warm
Mikhail Gorbachev
INF Treaty – reduce arms
Upheaval in Latin America
Anti-communist support
El Salvador, Nicaragua
Reagan supports the Contras
Tragedy in Lebanon
U.S. embassy bombed
Marine barracks bombed
Victory in Grenada
Communist coup defeated
Apartheid in South Africa
Reagan’s “constructive
engagement”
Reagan defies Congress
U.S. sells weapons to Iran
Money diverted to Contras
Lt. Col. Oliver North responsible
Reagan admits selling arms
Administration involved in cover
up
Rep. nominate George H. Bush
Jesse Jackson’s impressive
showing
Dem. nominate Michael
Dukakis
Bush’s promise – no new taxes
“Read my lips”
Glasnost and perestroika
Glasnost – “opening”
Opened USSR to new ideas
Perestroika – “restructuring”
Rid USSR of corruption
Chernobyl accident cover up
Eastern Europe crumbles
Soviet troops out of E. Europe
Velvet revolution in Czech.
Democracy in Poland/Romania
The fall of the Berlin Wall
Gates opened – Nov. 9, 1989
Berliners begin tearing down
wall
East and West Germany reunited
The end of the Soviet Union
Hardliners seize Gorbachev
Boris Yeltsin rescues Gorbachev
1991 – CIS formed - USSR gone
START I and START II Treaties
China: democracy crushed
Tiananmen Square massacre
Panama: a dictator falls
Col. Manuel Noriega
Drug trafficking
U.S. invasion – capture
The Persian Gulf War
Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait
Multi-national coalition formed
Operation Desert Storm
South Africa: new freedom
De Klerk and Nelson Mandela
end apartheid
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
introduce personal computers
Space shuttle could be reused
NASA’s “workhorse”
1986 – the “Challenger” tragedy
Uneven economic growth
1980’s – large GDP growth
Alan Greenspan and “the Fed”
Rising deficits
Deficit and debt skyrocket
Financial deregulation
Corporate raiders and
downsizing
Savings and loan crisis
Government rescues bankrupt
companies
Bush and the economy
Bush raises taxes – breaks
promise
Milestones
More women voting than men
Sandra Day O’Conner
American with Disabilities Act
Changes in Immigration law
Increased immigration limits
Court battles over social issues
Student searches upheld
School religious groups upheld
Abortion limits clarified
Battles over Sup. Ct. nominees
Clarence Thomas – sexual
harassment
A deadly disease
HIV/AIDS epidemic